Christina and Ryan coincidentally both moved to Manhattan, Labor Day weekend in 2015. Christina had been living in Raleigh, NC for 2 years. She had moved to Raleigh for a training program with Cisco. She had just accepted a new job in New York, and was so excited to be back in New York and living close to her family. Ryan had moved to the city from Piermont, NY. He was excited to finally start his life in NYC.
They had both joined different kickball leagues in the fall of 2015. Christina joined her team as a free agent and luckily was placed on a great team. Many of Christina and Ryan's best friends now were part of her original kickball team.
Christina’s team decided to join a dodgeball league in the Winter of 2016. Ryan happened to join the same league on a different team. Each week after the games were complete, all teams would meet up at a bar for post game drinks. The dodgeball league was on the Lower East Side and the post game bar was called One and One.
In the basement they would play drinking games like flip cup, beer pong and chandelier. One night Christina wanted to organize a game of flip cup. She knew she could use her loud voice to influence the crowd to play. Christina was yelling at people to get in line for flip cup. Ryan saw her for the first time and thought she was nuts.
The next week when they were at the bar Christina and her teammates noticed a guy wouldn't stop looking over at her. That guy happened to be Ryan. Clearly Christina's assertiveness intrigued Ryan. They started talking that night and found they had a lot in common.
They exchanged phone numbers and started texting. They went on their first date on February 18, 2016. They liked each other so much they went on their second date the next day and have been together ever since.
In April 2019, Ryan was preparing to move out of his 2nd NY apartment and move in with Christina. The beautiful engagement ring had just arrived and Ryan had an idea. Ryan invited Christina over to his apartment, “to go onto the rooftop and take in the amazing view from 18 stories up one last time.” Once on the rooftop, Ryan pointed to a far away skyscraper and got down on one knee. As Christina turned back around, shock and excitement took over her face. Christina said yes and the happy couple then enjoyed champagne and an amazing dinner at Riverpark Restaurant. The rest, as they say, is history.
Cooper is Christina and Ryan's Mini Goldendoodle puppy.
Christina and Ryan were living in Manhattan at the start of the pandemic last year. After they postponed the wedding Christina convinced Ryan they should get a puppy. They were both working from home and it was a perfect time to get a dog. They worked with a breeder in Rochester and we were matched with Cooper right after he was born. They couldn't pick Cooper up until he was eight weeks old, but every week the breeder sent them a photo. They loved watching him grow up. At the end of June they made the trip up to Rochester to pick up Cooper. From the beginning he was such a lovable and social puppy.
Cooper spent six months living in Manhattan. He was a perfect city dog. He loved saying hi to everyone on the street. He brought so many new people and dogs into Ryan and Christina's lives. Cooper enjoyed the outdoor dinning in NYC. He loved walking by the restaurants and saying hi to all the people eating outside. He would go up to anyone that made eye contact with him. He's ended up getting on a chair at a restaurant table with total strangers.
Cooper also loved the doormen in their apartment building. The doormen would give him treats every-time he walked in the building. Living in the city wasn't easy during the pandemic, but having Cooper made it so much better. Cooper helped Christina and Ryan make the most of their last few months as manhattanites.In March, Christina and Ryan purchased Ryan's mother Joanne's home in Harrington Park, NJ. The home has been in his family since the 50s. They feel lucky to be able to keep the home in the family. Cooper loves his new house. They have a fenced in backyard that he is obsessed with. They love how walkable the neighborhood is. The new neighbors are very friendly and Cooper has already made lots of new doggy friends.
Cooper will not be attending the wedding but he will be there in spirit. Look out for lots of details that include little Cooper.